Disappointed With Wsop Segregation

[CajunDragon 0]

I just want the 'newbie' fans to be happy and continue to come back.I was moseying back to my hotel room, via the elevator, and heard a guy say, 'this is my first year playing a WSOP event and I'll never do it again!' Another older couple asked if he saw any famous pros and he said no. He played in event #36. He was card dead and didn't cash but maybe if he had mingled with a few pros and felt like a star for a few minutes, he'd want to come back.I think all major events with the pros should be played in the Pavilion room and you should have to walk through it to get to the smaller sub events. Like a funnel. That way people get the maxim chance to mingle with the prosCD

[nutzbuster 7]

If having fans will put more money back into poker in general, I'm all for it.I will say that it can be pretty ironic who certain people admire. Sometimes that guy that you look up to is pretty shady, or pretty broke. Not everything is what it appears to be in the poker world.....

This was one of the main eye opening aspects I came away with from the s7s years. There are indeed some real sh*t heads out there.Regarding Kurts celeb comments, all of us, at some point, to different degrees, found the known players interesting for whatever reasons when this all blew up a few years ago. It was exciting stuff, especially back then, and we all wondered if we could be like them and make millions. And anyone here saying they never looked twice the first time they saw Daniel or Ivey or Ferguson is lying. A lot of that seems to have died off now, but the known 'celebrity' players today were the lucky ones who happened to be at the perfect place at the perfect time.About 'celebrity' in general, it doesn't always matter what you do but more whether or not you've had enough media time for you to be recognizable. Sports, entertainment celeb, reality star etc. If you saw them at Starbucks you'd do a double take, poke you buddy and say something, etc. It's just the way it is and few are immune to this reaction.If a 'thing' is to be sustainable, viable and have value then attention to that thing is critical. Fans are good and needed for something to thrive, sports, poker, movies, etc. and If an oddball wants to sent DN pottery or an elderly couple wants to paint signs and follow Ivey all over the country, so what? who cares?

[wildspoke 2]

I just want the 'newbie' fans to be happy and continue to come back.I was moseying back to my hotel room, via the elevator, and heard a guy say, 'this is my first year playing a WSOP event and I'll never do it again!' Another older couple asked if he saw any famous pros and he said no. He played in event #36. He was card dead and didn't cash but maybe if he had mingled with a few pros and felt like a star for a few minutes, he'd want to come back.I think all major events with the pros should be played in the Pavilion room and you should have to walk through it to get to the smaller sub events. Like a funnel. That way people get the maxim chance to mingle with the prosCD

This is totally unrealistic. This is not a cocktail hour. It's a poker tournament and the 'pros' are doing their job. You can't expect them to chat people up to make sure they had a positive WSOP experience.

[lurbz 2]

Pretty much just LOL @ anyone who thinks kurt is wrong here.Edit: then again I_fold is my fanboy so what do I knowAlso iPod autocorrect changed "fanboy" to "Rambo".

[CorvairShaggy 5]

I just want the 'newbie' fans to be happy and continue to come back.I was moseying back to my hotel room, via the elevator, and heard a guy say, 'this is my first year playing a WSOP event and I'll never do it again!' Another older couple asked if he saw any famous pros and he said no. He played in event #36. He was card dead and didn't cash but maybe if he had mingled with a few pros and felt like a star for a few minutes, he'd want to come back.I think all major events with the pros should be played in the Pavilion room and you should have to walk through it to get to the smaller sub events. Like a funnel. That way people get the maxim chance to mingle with the prosCD

So, did this "guy" drop a couple of $ Dimes $ to come and play and experience the WSOP, or try to get a cheap walk by grab ass on Durr, Phil, Daniel, etc. ?? If "he" was dissapointed because he was card dead at the WSOP, I can see that, but that's poker. Does he change casinos, online sites when he takes a bad beat or gets card dead for a while?? It happens. But if he was dissapointed because he didn't send a celebrity to the rail, then I think that is the wrong way to look at it. I disagreed with Kurt up to this point, but with the above statement I can see what he is talking about now. BUT, there is a difference IMO of railing the celebrities, and spending cash to play poker at a high level and being upset becasue you couldn't get a good cleavage shot of Jen Harman raking a big pot (you can see that on video posted here). If he went deep and cashed or won a bracelet but never played against or saw a celebrity, would he still be upset??? Is he trying to play poker because he likes the game, or trying to hobnob? I am sure there are easier ways to hobnob with and/or feel like a celebrity.I wish Daniel would chime in here because he can answer this better than most/all of us here. I have met a few "celebrities" / Big Shots and generally they are everyday people like you and me. They don't like to be bothered with all the " AHHHHH". You have some that are egotistical, yes and love the attention. I am sure that they see some crazy shit. But it is the nature of the beast. You get to a high level, you have to take the good/bads that come with it.

[Fade2241 0]

Poker players are definitely worthy of being celebrities. There are tons of people who are on tv just because they participate is some worthless dating or other type of retarded show, etc and they are considered celebs. Poker players lead exciting, sometimes wreckless lives. People like watching stuff like that. I don’t see why that’s so hard to understand. Don’t be jealous yo.

[CoolHandKai 0]

Pretty much just LOL @ anyone who thinks kurt is wrong here.

Wrong about what? That anybody could be a poker pro if they put in the time? That may be a true statement at its core, but it's not all that useful. Anybody could run a marathon, if they really put hours of exercise in. Anybody could write a book, if they really spent the hours actually writing. It's not about a nebulous "If people would spend the hours, then..." but more about the people actually doing it.

[Naked_Cowboy 0]

I just want the 'newbie' fans to be happy and continue to come back.I was moseying back to my hotel room, via the elevator, and heard a guy say, 'this is my first year playing a WSOP event and I'll never do it again!' Another older couple asked if he saw any famous pros and he said no. He played in event #36. He was card dead and didn't cash but maybe if he had mingled with a few pros and felt like a star for a few minutes, he'd want to come back.I think all major events with the pros should be played in the Pavilion room and you should have to walk through it to get to the smaller sub events. Like a funnel. That way people get the maxim chance to mingle with the prosCD

I'm really sorry "your friend" had an imprecise perception of what the WSOP is, but that doesn't mean that your skewed perception should change how the massive and logistically extremely complicated event should be organized. You don't see how there could be any difficulties with walking 2,000 people through an extra room every two hours so that the people playing smaller tournaments in that room can *look at them* instead of letting people use the hallways? Seriously, please re-read what you just wrote and think about it from an organizers standpoint and in the context of how the rio is laid out. Some smaller 5pms start in amazon, and that's where days 2+ play out for the rest of tournaments. In amazon there's a giant ****ing spectators entrance with grandstands and incredible effort put into being able to check in on the action as an observer. I'm sorry hellmuth didn't play in your $200 1pm or whatever, but you're not making any sort of effort to think logically about what you're saying.

[CajunDragon 0]

These are just idea's I'm throwing out there. It's not just 'my friend'. Now I've talked to over 20 random strangers who didn't know there was a secondary room with events being held. The Pavilion is so big that people think 'thats all there is'. Maybe just add some signs telling guys to come check out the action in the Amazon room behind the poker Pavilion would be sufficient. I knew to find it but apparently a lot of people are lemmings. I want the masses to have fun and want to come back to the WSOP next year so poker will grow Nothing more. But yes, the funnel idea would be a logistical nightmare. I just think they should equally split it. Anyway. Other then multiple reports of people getting sick from the salad at the poker kitchen, it's being run very well.

[nutzbuster 7]

Anyway. Other then multiple reports of people getting sick from the salad at the poker kitchen, it's being run very well.

ship the random 180-degree off topic closing point

[El Guapo 8]

This seems to me to entirely miss the point of what it means to be a celebrity. People are attracted to celebrities simply because they are famous. There are many poker players who are famous because they are on TV. People always like to see famous people in person, regardless of why they are famous. They have social value. It really has nothing to do with doing something special that we couldn't all do.

I asked Antonio Esfandiari how much longer was on a break and he answered me!!!!!

[coug2828 8]

I just want the 'newbie' fans to be happy and continue to come back.I was moseying back to my hotel room, via the elevator, and heard a guy say, 'this is my first year playing a WSOP event and I'll never do it again!' Another older couple asked if he saw any famous pros and he said no. He played in event #36. He was card dead and didn't cash but maybe if he had mingled with a few pros and felt like a star for a few minutes, he'd want to come back.I think all major events with the pros should be played in the Pavilion room and you should have to walk through it to get to the smaller sub events. Like a funnel. That way people get the maxim chance to mingle with the prosCD

there's gotta be a cheaper way to be a star fuc.ker than to plunk down a grand or whatever to play cards

[Balloon guy 158]

It's just different for me because anyone can do this if they work enough at it. I mean, I find it a little silly in all instances, but it's a little different for athletes because it's extremely hard to do that professionally. You have to be pretty elite. I just think it's different to be a poker fan, and to be a fanboy.I wouldn't say I look down on them, because people are that way about just about everything you possibly could be, but in general I just don't really get it.

I shot a 79 the same day the guy who was leading the US open shot an 82.Just saying.

[Balloon guy 158]

This has turned into an interesting topic.On some level, I have always thought that it was silly to be a "fan" of any single poker player. But in all fairness, it's more complicated. If you are a recreational player, and you watch someone on TV having quite a bit of success, it's only natural to admire that person. Not only because they are in the publics eye. But it gives a person something to look forward to. If I work hard, I too can do that. From the outside, it looks like a pretty amazing lifestyle. And on some levels, it is.One thing that Kurt missed is talent vs hard work. You can work incredibly hard, but you still might lack talent. And vice versa. If having fans will put more money back into poker in general, I'm all for it.I will say that it can be pretty ironic who certain people admire. Sometimes that guy that you look up to is pretty shady, or pretty broke. Not everything is what it appears to be in the poker world.....

This times 10.If it wasn't for Joe public wanting to watch poker on TV, then Phil Hellmuth would have 30 bracelets by now!Thank about that!

[Balloon guy 158]

And OP, the great thing about the way the WSOP is set up is they concentrate the pros in one room, so there is an easier time finding them and railing now.I used to spend hours looking for Kathy Liebert, now I can find her by just looking for the largest crowd

[Tiltinagain 973]

How much hard work and practice would I have to put in to hit 3 outer's on the river on High Stakes Poker the way Durr does?TP/MM indeed

[Naismith 0]

How much hard work and practice would I have to put in to hit 3 outer's on the river on High Stakes Poker the way Durr does?TP/MM indeed

Yeah! That guy sucks, but he sure is lucky!

[nutzbuster 7]

And OP, the great thing about the way the WSOP is set up is they concentrate the pros in one room, so there is an easier time finding them and railing now.I used to spend hours looking for Kathy Liebert, now I can find her by just looking for the largest crowd

Ive been up there just about every weekend since the series started and have seen her several times.... and always wearing the same purple outfit.Hopefully it's not like the lucky hat that never gets washed

[lurbz 2]

Now accepting applications for someone to holds giant sign that says LURBZ and play trolololololo every time I win a pot

[Tiltinagain 973]

Yeah! That guy sucks, but he sure is lucky!

It just doesn't seem fair to be crazy good AND as lucky as he is at times. Great job if you can get it though

[DanielNegreanu 141]

Let me start by saying I've never asked anyone for an autograph in my life, and I have no idea what people do with the scrap piece of paper they may ask me to sign. That's just not my thing. I'm not wow'ed by anyone really. I've met lots of "important people" and the more of them I meet the more obvious it becomes that the substance rarely matches the hype. Thing is, I've met lots of people, whereas a random couple from Idaho may not have. They come to the WSOP and see their favorite players, the guys they watch on TV, and it's a pretty cool moment for them. Don't hate. Only thing worse than a fanboy is a fanboy hater! I think celebrity is a bunch of BS myself, and I don't buy into it, but most Americans are fascinated with fame and it's a big deal to them. You don't have to "get it" to recognize it's true and that it's actually an important part of poker, or any sports popularity. The "fanboys" drive the game, whatever that game may be. As for pros being accessible, the room is WAY bigger this year thanks to the Pavillion. People are more spread out, but if you want to rail your favorites you can still do that easily. As for running into big name pros in the hallway on breaks, leave them alone man! I don't ever go through the hallways and haven't for a couple years. I want peace and quiet on my 20 minute break. Not being an ass, it's just tiresome to do that day in and day out. I take pics and sign autographs with people railing me, but you won't catch me roaming the hallways when I need to be somewhere. That part is a bit annoying, but it is what it is...

[vbnautilus 48]

Eh, what would you know about this topic. p.s. would you sign my profile????

[El Guapo 8]

p.s. would you sign my profile????

Is that what you are calling it these days?

[Mercury69 3]

I shot a 79 the same day the guy who was leading the US open shot an 82.Just saying.

That Mini Putt replica of Pebble Beach is pretty sweet, eh?

[outsider13 0]

I asked Antonio Esfandiari how much longer was on a break and he answered me!!!!!

You didn't have the courage to talk to Shannon Elizabeth tho. Just saying. I think you just stood there for like 15 minutes staring though.